No matter how skilled you are in your favorite online video game, if you have problems with your Internet connection, you will probably end up paying the price. Lag is one of the worst things that can happen to you in a multiplayer game, so we are going to try to help you reduce latency.
When lag appears in online video games, we will have a lower chance of victory because there is a delay in your character carrying out your commands since you have carried out the necessary action for it, since the information sent to the server and the processing of the response has taken more than necessary.
Forget shooting into the air because the rival was no longer there, we are going to give you a series of basic tips so that lag is not an excuse you can use to explain why you lost.
Select closest servers
It is not a solution applicable to all video games, since some automatically connect us to the servers that it deems most appropriate, but many other titles do allow us to choose at least the region of the servers to connect to.
Call of Duty Dedicated Servers
Choosing a server in Europe and, if possible, one in Spain if there is one, is a fairly effective way to reduce latency in the game and win as a game. We can both look for server location filters or look at some clues in the name of the server (EU, ES) to always try to play with other gamers in our area or nearby.
Close applications that consume bandwidth
The connection that reaches your house has an available bandwidth and online video games usually consume a moderate amount. If you make sure to close all programs that consume bandwidth (downloading torrents, playing videos, watching streaming, etc.) you will have less latency by having fewer obstacles by taking away megabytes in the connection.
A lag-free connection is crucial for online gaming.
The same applies to other people connected to the network. If we have guests who have joined the WiFi or live with many people and each of them is playing music, watching videos or playing their own network games, we will be boycotting each other. Try playing games when others aren’t using the network, or politely invite them to go out for a drink and clear your router for you.
Connect your PC or game console via Ethernet
Despite its convenience, WiFi adds considerable lag in online modes. Both Wi-Fi standards and routers have advanced to overcome this problem, but it will always be a better option to connect your gaming device directly by cable.
Ethernet port on PlayStation 5
If your network allows it, connect an Ethernet cable from the device’s Ethernet port to an open LAN port on the router. On consoles like Xbox, the wired connection will connect automatically, while on PlayStation consoles you will have to select wired connection manually or you will remain connected to WiFi as long as it works.
Configure QoS
QoS (Quality of Service) is a feature of routers and switches that will allow us to prioritize certain data traffic. What QoS allows us is to prioritize certain packets so that they are managed before others in the queue. In essence, it is capable of prioritizing certain traffic over the rest to guarantee that certain connections will always work without problems, with a priority above the others.
QoS configuration
The QoS functionality is widely used in gaming routers to give priority to game packets, and in this way, have the lowest possible latency and the lowest possible jitter (latency variation), with the aim that the game has the best possible user experience.
Buy a gaming router
If you play a lot of online games, perhaps your best alternative is to purchase a router specifically prepared for this purpose. Specialized routers not only have QoS focused on gaming, but can also feature features such as GPN (Gamers Private Network) , which allows you to create a virtual private network similar to a VPN that makes any gamer connecting to the network have less latency than other users by connecting using the shortest path between our LAN and the game server. In addition to reducing lag, it will also serve to lower ping.
ASUS AX82U gaming router
Generally, the most important benefits of a gaming router are:
- Superior connection speeds and responsiveness.
- Prioritize Internet traffic with quality of service (QoS) features.
- Better graphics and audio fidelity.
- Minimized data loss.
- Support for more simultaneous users.
- Improved Wi-Fi range.
- Superior components and hardware performance.
- Better environmental safety features.
- Options with easy parental controls.
- Best overall performance for gamers.